Coppens, F. - Janák, J. - Vymazalová, H., The Fifth Dynasty "Sun Temples" in a Broader Context

zlom312-478 24.2.2012 11:44 Stránka 430 The Fifth Dynasty ‘sun temples’ in a broader context Jifií Janák – Hana Vymazalová – Filip Coppens Introduction The present article represents the first result of a research that has recently started at the Czech Institute of Egyptology. The aim of this research is to study the connection of the solar cult, the royal cult and kingship. One of the most obvious features, the Fifth Dynasty sun temples are considered not as an isolated occurrence in the history of ancient Egypt, but rather by placing these monuments in a broader historical, cultural and religious context and by studying them from various different angles and points of view simultaneously to shed some new light on these ancient places of solar cult and the various concepts associated with these monuments. At the present stage, we would merely like to present some of our core ideas and main avenues of research, rather than publishing or claiming any ‘definitive’ results. This is still very much a work in progress and in light of this we would warmly welcome all comments and suggestions that have a bearing on this topic. The many stimulating conversations that followed upon the presentation of this paper at the ‘Abusir and Saqqara in the Year 2010’-symposium were in this perspective already invaluable. The presence of the two uncovered sun temples at the northern horizon of Abusir continuously draws our attention when working on site. In the paper at hand we would like to make an attempt at continuing the discussion which in recent years was again opened by colleagues Suzanne Voss (2004) and Masimiliano Nuzzolo (2007, 2010a, 2010b; see also Nuzollo and Pirelli 2010 and the contribution of both authors in this volume). We would like to contribute to the topic regarding the function and role of the sun temples and the religious landscape in which they were set by taking a closer look at the onomastic, topographical, architectural, economic and administrative connections between the sun temples and the pyramid complexes. At the same time we would like to place the sun temple in a much broader historical context. The Fifth Dynasty sun temples represent the monumental architectural expression of concepts and ideas that had been already present for a long time in Egyptian religious thought. Since the earliest of times, numerous Egyptian monuments provide parallels expressing the same general concepts – clearly apparent in these Fifth Dynasty monuments – but in various different architectural forms. Concomitantly, these concepts do not disappear with the last sun temple, but continue, re-edited and expressed in different forms and shapes, throughout the entire history of ancient Egypt. zlom312-478 24.2.2012 11:44 Stránka 431 The Fifth Dynasty ‘sun temples’ in a broader context 431 The Fifth Dynasty Sun Temples The topographical and architectural connections between the sun temple complexes and the pyramid complexes have already been well established in numerous past studies (Kaiser 1956; recently Voß 2004). Located on the west bank of the Nile, the solar complexes represent the only other religious monument of the Old Kingdom, next to the pyramid complexes of the deceased kings, that for the most part were constructed out of stone. The general layout of both complexes consists of the same basic components: a valley or lower temple, a causeway, and a temple attached to a pyramid or obelisk. Scholars have also already pointed out the strong similarities in the layout between the lower temple of Userkaf’s solar complex (Ricke 1965; 1969) and the so-called ‘lower’ temple of Snefru’s bent pyramid in Dahshur, i.e. the combination of an entrance hall, court and a series of niched chapels (Voß 2004, 20–4). The same layout is later on typical for the pyramid temples of most royal funerary complexes of the Fourth and Fifth Dynasty. M. Nuzzolo (2007, 221) has recently suggested that the rites performed on the statues in the pyramid temple would also have been executed in the lower temples of the sun temple complexes, while the combination of the chapel with the sed-festival scenes and the ‘chapel of seasons’ with false door in Niusere’s sun temple is reminiscent of the five chapels and the offering room, with false door, at the foot of the pyramid in the Tab. 1 Pyramid complexes and sun temples Pyramid complexes Owner Name Snofru +d-%nfrw Snofru #a-%nfrw rsy Snofru #a-%nfrw Khufu Axt-¢wfw Djedefre %Hdw-+d.f-Ra(.w) Khafre Wr-#a.f-Ra(.w) Menkaure NTrj-Mn-kAw-Ra(.w) Shepseskaf QbH-^pss-kA.f Userkaf Wab-swt-Wsr-kA.f Sahure #a-bA-%AHw-Ra(.w) Neferirkare Nfr-iri-kA-Ra(.w)-bA Raneferef NTry-bAw-Ra(.w)-nfr.f Niuserre Mn-swt-Ni-wsr-Ra(.w) Menkauhor NTry-swt-Mn-kAw-@rw Djedkare Nfr-+d-kA-Ra(.w) Unas Nfr-swt-Wnis Teti +d-swt &ty Pepy I. Mn-nfr Ppy Merenre #a-nfr Mr-n-Ra Pepy II. Mn-anx Ppy Location Meidum Dahshur Dahshur Giza Abu Roash Giza Giza Saqqara Saqqara Abusir Abusir Abusir Abusir Saqqara Saqqara Saqqara Saqqara Saqqara Saqqara Saqqara Builder Userkaf Sahure Neferirkare Raneferef Neiuserre Menkauhor Sun temples Name Nxn-Ra(.w) %xt-Ra(.w) %t-ib-Ra(.w) @tp-Ra(.w) ^sp-ib-Ra(.w) Axt-Ra(.w) Location Abusir ??? ??? ??? Abu Ghurab ??? zlom312-478 24.2.2012 11:44 Stránka 432 432 J. Janák, H. Vymazalová, F. Coppens pyramid complexes. In short, it is obvious that a close architectural and topographical link existed between both types of complexes. A detailed analysis of the various designations in use for these types of complexes (see table 1) reveals both close links and interesting differences between the sun temple and the pyramid complex. The names of these structures provide indications about their function and religious significance, as well regarding the nature of the cult recipient. The name of each complex typically consists of three elements: a) The determinative shows the shape of the structure. It could be either a pyramid on a plinth (an artificial mound), an obelisk on a plinth, or a schematic depiction of the mastaba-like tomb in the specific case of pharaoh Shepseskaf. b) The name also contains an element specifying the owner of the structure. The names of the pyramid complexes refer to the particular kings for whom they were built. The names of the sun-temples, on the other hand, do not mention any earthly authority as they refer solely to the sun god Re. c) The final element in the name of both structures consists of a word or a phrase that describes the nature of the owner or the significance of the structure for its owner. This last particular part of the name is the one that expresses the main theme encompassed in the complex. The name of the earliest sun temple, from the reign of king Userkaf, – Nxn-Ra(.w) – is of particular interest. The name has sometimes been translated as ‘Re’s fortress’ (Stadelmann 1991, 163), ‘Re’s storerooms’ (Verner 2001, 266) or even ‘the birthplace of Re’ (O’Connor 2001, 128). It would probably be more correct to understand the name literally as ‘Re’s Nekhen’, or the ‘Hierakonpolis of Re’, where the ‘Nekhen’ does not represent a mere place-name but has a specific symbolic meaning in relation to kingship. Userkaf’s sun temple in fact resembles this monument (i.e. the Nekhen temple in Hierakonpolis) in its architectural layout, especially in its earliest construction stage (Quibell and Green 1902, pl. LXXII; McNammara 2008, 901). The architectural structure known as the Nekhen temple or the Nekhen mound was, according to recent theories, originally used as ‘an arena’ for royal festivals and ceremonies dealing with royal power and authority, and with the constant approval and renewal of this power (McNammara 2008). These concepts and rites were in general not ascribed only to the living king – although this was most likely the case of the Hierakonpolis mound. On the contrary, the idea of renewal, recreation and resurrection was also very much connected with the transfigured ruler. This concept was encoded into the structure of the pyramid complexes and other royal tombs, and formed a strongly integrated part in the textual corpora used within these structures. The interconnection between the cultic celebration of royal power, the renewal of this power and the zlom312-478 24.2.2012 11:44 Stránka 433 The Fifth Dynasty ‘sun temples’ in a broader context 433 king’s afterlife ascension is illustrated most obviously in the Step pyramid complex. This monument has been connected both with its early royal-cult precursors, like the Hierakopolis mound (O’Connor 1992, 86–7; Adams 1995, 71–2; Kemp 1989, 59–61; McNammara 2008, 918–20), but also with much younger funerary structures, like the Late Period shaft-tombs (see for instance Smoláriková 2006b; 2009a; 2009b). All the attested names of the pyramid complexes of the kings in question (see the overview in table 1) speak either about the deceased king as a divine, pure, mighty and powerful being (nTr, bA, wr, wab, qbH) who reached eternal existence (Dd, mn, anx, xa) through renewal and resurrection, or they refer to the pyramid complexes as places where this renewal took or takes place (Axt, swt). The sun temple names contain a seemingly similar but not identical message. These designations mainly refer to the function of the complex itself and to its significance for the sun god’s renewal. It is noteworthy that these designations contain no references to the divinity (nTr) or divine power (bA; for the bA as divine power and manifestation, see Janák 2011) of Re, which in the designations of the pyramid complexes express the transformation of the king into a super-human, divine and mighty being through his ascension. There was no need to stress this fact in the names of sun temples, because their owner, the sun god, was and always had been divine. The sun temple names describe these ‘temples’ as places of the sun god’s rest, nourishment, renewal and resurrection (Htp, Axt, sxt, ct-ib, Ssp-ib, Nxn). The central message encoded in the names of pyramid complexes and sun temples, and their significance can be summarized as follows: a) The names of the pyramid complexes indicate the will of the king to ensure his resurrection and transformation into a divine state of existence, through the king’s cult. b) The names of the sun temples indicate the idea of the periodical renewal of Re, and the cult of the creator. The similarities between the sun temples and the royal mortuary complexes are not limited to their layout but are also present in the function of both monuments. At the time when the cult of Re became the main politicalreligious power and the king became the son of Re, the kingship and its renewal became interwoven with the renewal of the main god. By designating his first sun-temple Nxn-Ra(.w), Userkaf linked the complex both with the idea of the Nekhen mound and of the Step pyramid (next to which he was actually buried). In light of this one should understand his sun temple as a place or arena in which the life, power and authority of the king was continually renewed through the renewal of the sun god. The sun temples did not encompass any burial chamber or a similar structure, since the body (both living and ‘dead’) of the owner (the sun god) zlom312-478 24.2.2012 11:44 Stránka 434 434 J. Janák, H. Vymazalová, F. Coppens existed as the heavenly body of the sun. The motif of the sun god’s death (in its textual and pictorial form) is attested only from much later sources. Already the Pyramid Texts, however, refer to the sun god’s daily or nightly journey through the Duat and to his morning ascension and regular renewal (PT §275, 337–63, 999–1001, 1039–40, 1244–7, 1430 etc.). More frequently in the same textual corpus are references to the deceased king himself attaining resurrection through the heavenly ascension as/to/with Re and his birth from the heavenly goddess (PT §1–3, 130, 132, 207–13, 314, 368, 390, 519, 743, 855–6, 886–93, 918–9, 922–3, 981–91, 1107–19, 1176–82, 1201–20, 1244–6, 1315–8, 1421–8, 1492–9, etc.). According to PT §1688 the transfigured king will be seated on the throne of Re to command the gods, and he will be (or even has already been) Re who comes forth from Nut every day. The king is, hence, born every day, like Re. This was the sun’s (or the king’s) resurrection or recreation as the ‘coming out by/to the day’ (The prt m hrw phrase attested from the Old Kingdom was discussed by V. Dobrev during the conference in his paper ‘Old Kingdom ‘Houses of Eternity’ and Late Period ‘Mastabas’ at Tabbet al-Guesh (South Saqqara)’). In this perspective the sun temple complex constitutes a funerary complex without a burial place, a temple without a sacred image and a royal arena with only secondary reference to the living king. It was a ritual arena for (the celebration of) the sun’s renewal, or the place of the resurrection of Re. The decorative programme of sun temples that has survived to the present day consists of two well-known iconographical motifs: the representation of the seasons of the year and the sed-festival (Bissing 1923; 1928; Bissing and Kees 1922; Kaiser 1971; Edel 1971; Edel and Wenig 1974; Nuzzolo 2007, 225–9). The first set of scenes includes depictions of the seasons and of Egyptian nomes and was recently interpreted as reflecting the idea of nourishment and supply (Nuzzolo 2007, 226). We would however rather see the symbolism of the scene as a reference to the creator’s – i.e. the sun-god’s – work in the world with its time and space aspects. His responsibilities and achievements within the annual recreation of nature are portrayed in much the same way as the king had his own responsibility, duties and actions depicted in his pyramid complex (the types of scenes from the pyramid complexes, showing the king’s tasks in relation to the land and to the gods were discussed in detail by for instance åwiek 2003). As the Egyptian king was fulfilling his role for the land of Egypt and its order, the creator was maintaining life on earth, all creation. The second set of scenes deals with the periodical renewal of royal power. The inclusion of sed-festival scenes into the decorative programme of the sun temples clearly indicates that the religious concepts dealing with the royal authority or power, and its renewal and reestablishment formed one of the pillars of the sun temple role and function. The attestation of the sed-festival scenes within the sun temple do however not necessarily imply that this zlom312-478 24.2.2012 11:44 Stránka 435 The Fifth Dynasty ‘sun temples’ in a broader context 435 ‘temple’ was primarily constructed for the king (either living or dead), as suggested by M. Nuzzolo (2007, 236–7), since all other evidence points towards the sun god as the owner of this cultic structure. It was the Creator’s role in the kingship that was expressed in the sun temples. Both the annual nature cycle scenes and the sed-festival motives refer to the idea of periodical renewal. The former set of reliefs point towards the sungod’s recreation and his responsibility for the renewal of the world. The second distinctive set of images and text express the idea that the renewal of kingship was one of the main elements in maintaining the order of the created world. In the Pyramid Texts the king’s renewal or resurrection was closely tied with the renewal of Re and the resurrection of Osiris. Although religious concepts of the so-called imitatio solis and imitatio Osiridis, or unio liturgica are in their full (textual, iconographic, and artefactual) form attested mainly from later sources (Assmann 2001, 230–5, 247–56; Smith 2008), we find the cardinal concepts and ideas of this view of resurrection already present in the Pyramid Texts. Later sources provided important information on various additional aspects of the renewal of kingship. These sources usually deal with the concept of the royal ka that was ‘derived’ from and dependent on the king’s predecessor or/and the divine father (Schweitzer 1956, 42–4, 62–7). The royal ka of the living king represented both the ka of Horus shared with his father Osiris, and the ka transmitted from the sun-god or the creator (Re, Amun) to his (bodily) son and (earthly) deputy (PT §160, 199, 207–9; for the ka-relation between father and son, see Schweitzer 1956, 43, 71–2; Loprieno 2003, 203–4). The New Kingdom and later rituals as for example the Opetfestival, the Beautiful Festival of the Valley (Bell 1985; 1997; Waitkus 2008; Darnell 2010), or the rites performed in the complexes of wabet and court in Ptolemaic and Roman temples, where the annual or periodical renewal of the main deity (the creator) was reached together with the renewal of royal power, embraced a very similar idea (Coppens 2007, 131–2, 142–5, 154–6, 160, 170–1, 176–8, 208; Coppens and Vymazalová 2010; Coppens 2011). One can also think of the so-called Legends of the divine birth of the king attested from the New Kingdom (Brunner 1986) and their later variants that focused on the birth of the divine king and were performed in the mammisis or birth temples (Daumas 1958). Interestingly enough recent research has brought about new evidence on possible early (Middle Kingdom and even Old Kingdom and Heliopolitan) sources or ritual precursors of the Opet-festival (Waitkus 2008; Darnell 2010), while Middle Kingdom precursors of motifs previously known only from the New Kingdom scenes of the divine birth of the king have recently been discovered at Dahshur (some of these scenes were presented during Adela Oppenheim’s lecture ‘The Causeway of Senwosret III at Dahshur: 2008 and 2009 Excavations of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York’ at the ‘Abusir and Saqqara in the Year 2010’-conference). zlom312-478 24.2.2012 11:44 Stránka 436 436 J. Janák, H. Vymazalová, F. Coppens The king’s dependence on the solar deity can also be observed in the ritual, economic and administrative levels of the relation and interconnections between the sun complex and the funerary temple. A recent study of M. Nuzzolo (2010b) showed that the priestly functions in the sun temple were associated with officials who were connected to the person of the king and especially his toilette-rituals in the palace. It is noteworthy that the ceremonies (mainly those performed in the pr-dwAt or pr-DbAt) associated with the king’s morning purification were also meant to purify and renew the royal ka in him (Schweitzer 1956, 55–62). The rituals performed for the king might well have been linked to rituals performed for the creator. The group of officials and their subordinates active in both the sun temple and the palace profited from the economic background of the sun temple during the king’s lifetime, while after the ruler’s death this connection moved from the palace to the pyramid complex (Vymazalová 2011). The Abusir papyrus archives inform us that the divine offerings were brought on a daily basis from Neferirkare’s sun temple to his funerary temple (Posener-Kriéger 1976, 259, 521, document 34 1d; Vymazalová 2011, 296). The dependent ideological position of the king shows itself more clearly in this case as it takes the form of a reversion of the offerings from the altar of Re to the altar of the king (and only then onwards to his subjects). A similar idea is attested in passages from the Pyramid Texts of the Sixth Dynasty where the deceased, transfigured and resurrected king is still dependent on ‘his father’ (and) Re: ‘As to the king, it is his father who gives, to him … it is Re who gives to him barley, spelt, bread and beer’ (§120–1; similarly 706–10). A letter from Isesi’s time, found in the papyrus archive from Neferirkare’s pyramid temple in Abusir, also attests the very dependence of the king – and the provisions for his cult – on the main solar deity and his female partner: ‘… as Re, Hathor and [all] the gods desire that Isesi live for ever and for eternity’ (pBerlin 11301, see Posener-Kriéger 1976, 451–65, document 80A; English translation Strudwick 2005, 175; the same formula can also be found in the fragment of a letter on pBM10735). Some remarks on plausible precursors of the sun temples and associated concepts It is our understanding that the ideas and religious concepts that form the background for the function of the sun temple and its role within ancient Egyptian religion did not appear out of nowhere at the beginning of the Fifth Dynasty or that these notions suddenly disappeared with the last attested sun temple of Menkauhor. The close architectural link between the layout of the sun complexes and the Fourth Dynasty pyramid complexes has already been mentioned before. There are also several other earlier architectural structures zlom312-478 24.2.2012 11:44 Stránka 437 The Fifth Dynasty ‘sun temples’ in a broader context 437 as well as religious concepts or rites that have been linked to the sun temples or that may be connected to them in the light of the latest research. A number of scholars have for instance linked the sun temples to the archaic enclosures at Abydos or Hierakopolis, interpreting the latter as ka-foundations and places both for the cult of the royal ka and for the ceremonial catering to the royal cult (Papazian 2008, 64–79). H. Papazian differentiates between ka-foundations built to serve the cult of the living king and ka-foundations for the royal mortuary cult. In his study he mentions the possibility that some ka-foundations (whose names do not mention any individual ruler) could have been used by any number of subsequent kings for cultic and economic purposes (Papazian 2008, 66, 70). He ascribes a similar cultic and theo-political function to a series of small stepped pyramids built throughout Egypt and to the Fourth Dynasty subsidiary pyramids (Papazian 2008, 74–6. On this topic see also Seidlmayer 1996, 213–4). D. Wildung (1969, 137–8, 144) already considered long ago the possibility that the Meidum pyramid was a predecessor of the Fifth Dynasty sun temples. It has already been mentioned that Snofru’s Bent pyramid ‘lower’ temple shows similar features as the lower temple in Userkaf’s Nekhen-Re (Voß 2004, 20–4), and indications of a similar sort can be found in a different form in the Giza necropolis in the so-called Sphinx temple (Vymazalová 2011). In his 2008 article Papazian does not mention any link between the above-mentioned structures and the cult of deities, although he does point out the names of two early ka-foundations that (similarly to the later sun temples) mention gods instead of kings: Axt-nTr and %A-@rw (Papazian 2008, 67–9). Although he does not consider it very probable that any of these structures (including the sun temples) had a mortuary character or served the king’s posthumous cult, a direct economic and cultic relationship clearly existed between the sun temples and the pyramid complexes: several fragments of the Abusir papyri (Posener-Kriéger 1976, 139) and the affiliation of priests with both types of complexes (Épron et al. 1939, pl. 37, 99, 103; Nuzzolo 2010b; Vymazalová 2011) bear witness to this connection. Among the many plausible precursors or models for the layout and function of the typical sun temple, the Step pyramid complex stands out. This monument shares several similarities with the sun temple with regard to its architectural plan (O’Connor 1992, 86–7; Adams 1995, 71–2; McNammara 2008, 918–20), decoration (for the sed-festival scenes on the underground relief panels from the Step pyramid see Friedman 1995) and possible cultic function (Nuzzolo 2007; Vymazalová 2011). The latter deals mainly with the themes of renewal and recreation of power and the cult of the royal ka. The sed-festival features as the main link between the sun temples and Djoser’s pyramid complex at Saqqara. The latter monument combined ritual and mortuary elements that later on became separated and divided over the pyramid complex and the sun temple complex. The Step pyramid itself can furthermore zlom312-478 24.2.2012 11:44 Stránka 438 438 J. Janák, H. Vymazalová, F. Coppens be linked to earlier inspirational sources, not in the least the aforementioned royal ‘mound’ at Hierakonpolis, which in turn takes us back to the very first sun temple, designated as ‘Re’s Nekhen’. An important aspect of the research into the function of the sun temples and their plausible precursors are solar cult attestations contemporary with these models and sources. Although this is still the topic of an ongoing debate, recent research has brought about more arguments for re-dating the origin of the cult of Re from the Third to the Second Dynasty – or to even earlier periods of Egyptian history (Kahl 2007). These early periods in question however also bear witness to the existence of other deities, next to Re, with solar aspects, characteristics and roles (e.g. Horus), while even other deities could be hidden underneath their titles and/or epithets. One of the most fascinating and mysterious textual attestations of the solar cult from the early period of Egyptian history deals with the yet not fully explained term skt-Ra(.w), often translated as ‘Re’s setting’ (or ‘Setting of the Sun’; Goedicke 1957a, 153). This term was found on a stone vessel in the underground galleries of the Step Pyramid and dated to the Second or Third Dynasty (Altenmüller 1972; Stadelmann 1983a; Kahl 2007, 54–5; Papazian 2008). It is believed that this expression refers either to a structure used for the solar and royal cult or to a royal/solar festival. The hieroglyphic sign that follows the expression in question – by some scholars considered to be a determinative for a cultic structure (Altenmüller 1972; Stadelmann 1983a; Papazian 2008, 72–3) – was interpreted by J. Kahl as the heb-sed logogram (Kahl 2007, 54). The sign can however also viewed as a determinative classifying the skt-Ra(.w) as a ‘sed-like’ festival of the solar cult. A similarly called festival, grH n Ra(.w) (or the ‘Night of Re’), was celebrated in Neferirkare’s sun-temple according to the Abusir papyri (Posener-Kriéger 1976, 116–8; 1970, 131–7). A festival related to the sun’s or sun-god’s nightly journey, its ‘death’ and ‘recreation’ fits very well with the proposed function of the sun temple as a place of the sun’s cultic renewal. The Aftermath – notes on solar temple concepts in later times In the late Fifth Dynasty, the form changed but the concept stayed. The administration of the cult of the pharaoh became specialized and the cult of Re seems to have become institutionalized and centralized in Iunu (Quirke 2001, 106–7; Vymazalová 2011, 300–1), while the Pyramid Texts ensured the same effect for the king as the Htp-nTr of Re for the previous sixty years. These changes reflect the economic importance of the cults and the increase of the administration and number of middle-lower rank people attached to them. The intermediary economic function of the six attested sun temples for the six funerary temples after the death of the kings was discontinued and the state zlom312-478 24.2.2012 11:44 Stránka 439 The Fifth Dynasty ‘sun temples’ in a broader context 439 once again took direct control over the production for the cults thanks to a direct economic contact between the Residence and the pyramid complexes. In both cases the system enabled the king to redistribute the wealth of the state cults’ production to his loyal subjects (Vymazalová 2011). The further development of the same or similar concepts following the end of the Old Kingdom is extremely difficult to trace, but occasionally temples of the Middle and New Kingdom, the Late Period and Ptolemaic times offer a glance at its plausible continuation. The distance in time between the original sun temples of the Fifth Dynasty and the solar courts and chapels in much younger temples has of course to be taken into account, especially since little evidence is known about its transmission throughout the first half of the second millennium BC – although the already mentioned recent research in Dahshur by the Metropolitan Museum of Art might provide some crucial information in this regard. Later temples do however provide a number of indications that suggest that the general concept behind the functioning of the sun temples appears to have continued throughout the history of ancient Egypt – undoubtedly time and time again reinterpreted and reedited in the ‘houses of life’ of the temple precincts. Generally speaking, one regularly encounters a number of later monuments that contain an open court, sometimes provided with an altar or platform, in the immediate vicinity of the main sanctuary of the temple. The decorative programme applied to the walls of these courts and associated rooms almost always deals with the renewal of life, of the creator and of kingship – concepts well-known from the Fifth Dynasty sun temples. One of the most plausible successors – although hard evidence is lacking – of these concepts in an architectural form appear to be the Sw.t-Ra(.w) of numerous New Kingdom temples. This type of monument is archaeologically attested almost exclusively in the Theban region, and in particular on its west bank (Stadelmann 1969; Spencer 1984, 119–25; Arnold 2003, 234; Karkowski 2003, 85–118). The typical monument usually consists of two distinctive parts: a court open to the light of day and an elevated, roofed chapel that was accessible by a staircase and often located on or near the roof of the temple. The most typical feature of the open court was the presence of a large freestanding altar in its very centre. The central role the solar cult played in these chambers is evidenced not only by the fact that the court was open to the light of day. The inscriptions, such as extracts from the Book of the Dead spell 15, and reliefs still preserved on the walls of the open courts in the temples of Hatshepsut, Seti I and Ramses III on the Theban West Bank and Ramses II (Abu Simbel) all contain references to the diurnal and nocturnal journey of the Sun and evoke the concept of its daily rebirth. The same idea is for instance expressed by scenes depicting baboons welcoming the rising sun and greeting the setting sun on the walls of these courts. The complex is zlom312-478 24.2.2012 11:44 Stránka 440 440 J. Janák, H. Vymazalová, F. Coppens always incorporated in the north half of the temple. Its fixed location in the north is generally understood as a reference to the very centre of the solar cult in Heliopolis, to the north of Thebes. The expression ‘Heliopolis of the south’ (Iwnw Sma) could designate not only Thebes, but also the Sw.t Ra(.w) (according to Kees 1947 and Stadelmann 1969, 174–6). The oldest known example of this type of complex is located on the upper terrace of Hatshepsut’s temple in Deir el-Bahari (Karkowski 2003). Remarkably a series of rooms dedicated to the renewal, continuation and confirmation of the royal cult of Hatshepsut and Thuthmosis I is located exactly on the opposite side of this uppermost temple terrace. This part of the temple, the so-called Royal Cult complex, contains numerous references and associations to the sed-festival, but also to the ‘chapel of seasons’ as known from Niuserre’s sun temple (Bialostocka 2010). In later examples of this type of monument, such as for instance in the temple of Ramses III in Medinet Habu (Murnane 1980, 49–52), the two concepts – renewal of creator/sun-god and the renewal and confirmation of kingship – are often intertwined in the decoration of the solar court and its associated rooms. The decorative scheme of the solar courts focuses primarily on the daily journey and renewal of the Sun, but according to text and image, the pharaoh appears to have played a crucial role in helping to ensure this renewal happens. The return of the sun and the renewal of creation also implied the continuation and confirmation of the kingship of the pharaoh. (Coppens 2007, 209–12; 2011) At the same time the text and images in the covered chapel also introduce a funerary theme, particularly the concept of rebirth following a death-like state, by focusing on the diurnal phase of the solar cycle and the solar god’s transformation in the middle of the night. The so-called ‘Edifice of Taharqa’ at the north-west corner of the sacred lake in the domain of Amun in Karnak might represent a further step in the continuation and transmission of these concepts. The monument is only partially preserved and its reconstruction, particularly with regard to the superstructure, is for the most part a mere hypothesis, but a large part of the inscriptions and reliefs that decorated the walls of the six underground rooms has been preserved. The decoration of the subterranean chambers focuses on the rebirth and transformation of the god Amun. The scenes on the walls depict concepts of renewal and rebirth, such as the continual cycle of the Sun setting and rising, the death of the solar deity and the rites to be performed to bring about his resurrection. The final result was the rebirth of Amun in the form of the solar deity Ra. According to the decorative programme, the pharaoh’s participation was an important component for the rites to be successful and the sacred act of creation to be renewed. The rebirth of the deity not only implied a restoration of the natural order, but also a confirmation and renewal of the kingship over Egypt (Parker, Leclant and Goyon 1979; Cooney 2000; Coppens 2007, 212–5; 2011). zlom312-478 24.2.2012 11:44 Stránka 441 The Fifth Dynasty ‘sun temples’ in a broader context 441 A similar theme might also be found in the so-called dais-room (possibly a Ra-Harakhte chapel, but also referred to as a ‘throne room’) in a series of Nubian temples of Amun from the Twenty–Fifth Dynasty (especially the reign of Taharqa) and early Meroitic times (Coppens 2007, 215–9; 2011; Rocheleau 2008, esp. 77–8). Another stage in the further development of these concepts might be found in the complex of wabet or elevated chapel and open court in Thirtieth Dynasty and Ptolemaic and Roman temples. The complex functioned foremost as the setting for the preparation of the statues of the gods for their annual renewal through an exposure to the sun (the main creator) – the so-called union with the sun disc. A secondary aspect of the rites performed was related to the renewal of kingship. In Ptolemaic and Roman times it is no longer the earthly kingship, more often than not in the hands of a foreign ruler at that time, but the divine kingship that is being renewed and confirmed (Coppens 2007; 2011; Coppens and Vymazalová 2010). This is but a brief overview of some of the later sources that provide some indication as to how the concepts at work in the Fifth Dynasty sun temples could have continued, undoubtedly following numerous reinterpretations and re-editions in priestly milieus, and remained a part of ancient Egyptian religious thought throughout the ages. This particular aspect of our research into the concepts related to the workings of the sun temples still needs to be explored in greater detail (The relation between the aforementioned first millennium BC monuments was already treated in more detail in Coppens 2007, 209–22. See also Coppens 2011). Conclusion In order to obtain a complex and detailed understanding of the role and function of the Fifth Dynasty sun temples, these monuments can not be studied solely as individual or unique features without taking into account the broader historical, religious and cultural context against which these complexes came to be constructed and later on fell into disuse. The analysis of their names, function and economic significance provides us with the means to better understand why they started and stopped to be built. In this initial study only a very brief summary of our research-to-date could be presented, indicating in general the following: i) The Fifth Dynasty sun temple had the same function for Re as a pyramid complex had for the king. One could call it a ‘funerary temple of Re’, but both the sun temples and the funerary temples were actually places of renewal and resurrection in order to maintain the order of the created world. ii) The rituals in the Fifth Dynasty sun temples were performed for the sun god in his function and role as the creator and the father of the king. zlom312-478 24.2.2012 11:44 Stránka 442 442 J. Janák, H. Vymazalová, F. Coppens Secondarily these rites also related to the king – to both a) the living king as the son of Re and the bearer of the royal ka who himself needed a periodical renewal of royal power, and b) the dead/transfigurated king who was (or had repeatedly been) resurrected into the divine world together with the sun and other heavenly bodies and whose funerary offerings were closely linked to the offerings presented in the sun temple. There are both direct and indirect references to the nature of the rituals that were performed in sun temples. Written sources, such as the Abusir papyri, speak about daily offerings that were transported from the sun temple to the funerary temple, after the offerings had first been offered to the sun god. A number of sources also refer to festivals celebrated in the sun temple, including monthly ‘visits of Re’ to the sun temple on the 29th day of each month. The date of these visits may point towards periodical renewal ceremonies performed in the temples, which could also correlate with the regular inspections of the administration. iii) The sun temple was in ritual use during the life of the king who constructed it. The ruler’s closest servants were in charge and the main recipients of its income. In this manner the kings of the Fifth Dynasty were capable of ensuring the loyalty of their closest subjects through the ideology and the cult of Re. After the king’s death the economic potential became connected with his pyramid complex to ensure his eternal cult, while the new king needed to make new arrangements for his own loyal subjects. iv) On the ideological level the construction of the sun temple by individual kings resulted not only in the renewal of kingship (or the royal ka), but it mainly expressed the role of a particular king in the process of maintaining the order of the world, through the renewal of the creator-god as the king’s father. In this way, his sun temple with scenes under his name had the same effect as later the Pyramid Texts mentioning the individual king’s name or as earlier the scenes in the Step pyramid complex. v) The concepts expressed in the architecture, decoration and function of the sun temple complexes are not limited to the Fifth Dynasty. The sun temples are but one specific example of a monument, limited both in space and time, that eloquently expresses religious concepts related to the maintenance of the world and the continual renewal of both the creator and his representative. These ideas and concepts already existed long before the construction of the first sun temple and continued, though constantly being analysed, reinterpreted and reedited by the priesthood, throughout the history of ancient Egypt.